%20so%20we%20know%20it%20can%20be%20done%20well,%20and%20there%20is%20nothing%20wrong%20with%20the%20idea%20in%20principle.%20It%20can%20be%20done%20badly%20though%20-%20for%20every%203:10%20to%20Yuma%20there%20is%20a%20Halloween%20II.%20Sometimes%20the%20film-maker%20is%20tempted%20to%20mess%20around%20with%20the%20story,%20to%20put%20his%20stamp%20on%20it,%20and%20they%20end%20up...){kind=link}
Twas the Remake before Christmas
Twas the Remake before Christmas
Many of the most popular movies of all time are remakes (Ben Hur, Titanic, The Magnificent Seven, Robin Hood) so we know it can be done well, and there is nothing wrong with the idea in principle. It can be done badly though - for every 3:10 to Yuma there is a Halloween II. Sometimes the film-maker is tempted to mess around with the story, to put his stamp on it, and they end up ruining it Tim Burton for example, changed the ending of Planet of the Apes, leaving out the iconic Statue of Liberty scene, and replacing it with one that makes no sense at all. The recent remake of The Wicker Man left out the actual wicker man a decision so unpopular they had to refilm it to put it back in for the DVD release.
There are several classic movies that, in my opinion, are crying out for big budget Hollywood remakes - The Wizard of Oz, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Gone with the Wind - mainly because the old acting style and dialogue now seems quite dated, but also because they would benefit so much from modern production values and special effects.
In popular music some of the biggest hits over the years have been remakes (cover versions). The best ones are those that bring something different to the song to set it apart from the original Jimi Hendrix's guitar in All Along the Watchtower, the synths disco beats in You were always on my mind (by the Pet Shop Boys). Some cover versions were big hits even though the original was quite obscure (Torn by Natalie Imbruglia and Tainted Love by Soft Cell come to mind) but serious music fans do tend to get a little sniffy when people cover the classics - especially if the performer is considered mainstream. The only way to get away with it seems to be to do it as a joke - Rolf Harris did "Stairway to Heaven" and the Muppets did "Bohemian Rhapsody" - but when someone takes on a classic and tries to do it seriously, the response tends to be "why?"
So why then, do people not remake poetry? It seems as though poetry is sacred in some way, but can it really be true that every poem ever published is already perfect, and could not be improved by a second poet coming along and tweaking a few words, and adding a line here and there?
This brings me to "The Night before Christmas". Everyone loves this poem, and it is perfect in every way and could never be improved, right? Well, before you answer, try reading it aloud to a five-year-old, as I did recently. The beautiful structure and rhythm of the poem was rather spoiled by me having to stop every few lines to answer questions:
"Daddy, what's a sugar-plum?"
"Why was mamma in her 'kerchief?"
"Who is St Nicholas?"
"Why did he throw up the sash? Had he eaten too much sash?"
Okay, I made that last one up, but the poem really is filled with difficult phrases like "the lustre of mid-day", "his coursers they came", and "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow". It is also full of ideas that are now out of date - Santa is referred to as St Nicholas, he is dressed in fur, he is an elf, and worst of all, he is a smoker!
As I was reading The Night before Christmas to my daughter then, I was thinking to myself "Some modern children's writer should rewrite this, take out the archaic words, and update the references so that we recognize Santa." Then I thought, "Hang on, I'm a modern children's writer, I should do it!" So I did. I am fully expecting the traditionalists out there to be horrified by the idea, and I am prepared (well, maybe half-prepared) for a torrent of abuse from them, and possibly death-threats. My response to them is that if you don't like the updated version, and you and your young children are happy with the original, just ignore me. The original is still there, and it will never go away.
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